Skiing and snowboarding could become a shrinking industry.
Even though nearly 60 million people participate in winter sports, that number has been growing at a snail’s pace and might even decline as aging baby boomer’s leave the sport, said National Ski Areas Association president Michael Berry on Wednesday.
Berry was the featured speaker at the 2009 Fall Forum put on by the Park City Chamber/Bureau at The Yarrow Hotel and Conference Center. He was invited to comment on future trends in the business.
His message focused on the need to attract more people to the sport and make skiing a more enjoyable experience for beginners.
The problem of beginner retention is not a new one. A study in 1999 revealed that only 15 percent of first-time visitors became repeat clients. But Berry said the industry should be more concerned than it appears to be, because in 10 years that number has only increased by 1.7 percent.
“Years ago, skiers were an elite group that pursued the sport with a passion,” he said. “Today that relationship to customers is more complex. As baby boomers and the stalwarts age, it will change more The exit of my generation will have a profound impact.”
Berry attributed the problem to what he called a “cavalier” attitude toward beginners. Being cold, wearing ill-fitting equipment and using rudimentary methods to get up the mountain were considered rites of passage by those passionate and enthusiastic about the sport.
More has been done to improve the industry in the last 10 years than in the previous 30, he said, but little attention is being paid to the kind of experience novices are having.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the number of skiers in America was stagnant at around 53 million. A line graph of the number of skiers and snowboarders over the past three decades appears flat. But over the last decade, tremendous strides have been made to increase that number to around 57 million.
Unfortunately, Berry said, the majority of that growth came from increasing the part winter sports played in the lives of people already familiar with skiing and snowboarding. About 30 percent of clients are over age 50.
“We did well with the core customer. The quality of their experience has never been better,” he said. “In 10 years we’ve taken care of one element well but they will leave us first.”
No amount of Advil can keep an elderly person coming back to the slopes, he said. Add to the mix a variety of choices with cruises, beaches and golf vacations. Within the next five years, some of America’s best ski clients will be in their 60s and 70s.
“We must still cater to them, but the issue of treating beginners well needs to become ‘Job No. 1,'” he said.
Berry had three suggestions for fixing the problem.
First, he said, the winter sports industry needs to think more like a mega corporation.
There are 9.5 million people who consider themselves active participants. Most new clients are introduced to the sport by other people. If that were true of Microsoft, they would learn everything they could about those 9.5 million people including what they eat for breakfast.
“How do we reward them for doing a better job bringing people to us?” he asked.
Also like a major corporation, the industry needs to figure out who the real decision makers are in a family and target them with vacation offers. For families with kids and grandkids, it’s usually the moms and grandmas, he said. When vacations are planned, what can resorts do to make them think snow instead of surf?
Second, he said more attention should be paid to the kind of experience beginners have at the resort. Trying to get fitted for ski boots with 1,500 school-age children on a Saturday morning can be a real turn-off, he said.
The ski school experience is also important. Experiments have shown that the experience of the instructor isn’t nearly as important as the passion the instructor has for making sure the guest has a good day on the mountain.
“We need to make a fundamental shift to how we treat people new to the sport,” he said. “The anxiety levels are huge for them.”
Third, the industry needs to do a good job presenting a “powerful winter-weather message.” As the economy picks up and consumer confidence increases, skiers and snowboarders who visited regional resorts last year will be craving a quality experience this year. A family or group of friends sharing a mountain vacation is a bonding experience that few travel options can compare with. If a town has good snow, that’s going to be a powerful draw to people looking to make the most of their winter vacation, he said.
Even Europeans prefer American resorts to those in France. The weak U.S. dollar will make a visit very attractive, he said.
“We’re positive about the next 10 years,” he said. “What we sell is a unique experience.”